Favorite Art Books of 2011

* Not included in the photo but I wanted to mention my favorite fiction book of 2011, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

-Poetry and Art: Kylie Johnson's Count Me the Stars and A Once Courageous Heart (I found one of these books at an Anthropologie store in AZ. The clerk told me that there was a second title and that they were out. I drove 20 minutes to the next store and they had it! I bought extra copies and gave them to friends at Christmas. I *love* these books. I would love, love, love to own one of her pottery pieces someday!)

-Morran Book compiled by Camilla Engman (Speaking of Camilla, her book published by Uppercase is a must.)

-Uppercase Magazine's Dottie Angel and Work/Life 2 (A disclaimer, I have everything that Uppercase has ever published. To say I am a fan is an understatement. I haven't reached stalker status yet but I do love their work.)

-Bowie Style's Print Pattern 2 (I loved the first book and was quite eager for the second book!)

-Open Studios with Lotta Jansdotter (artist's + the space they create in=Bliss)

-Masters: Book Arts (pure eye candy for the artist book lover. I wish that someone would publish more books like this one. Their Masters: Collage is also Heaven. They are refreshing changes from the abundance of technique/how to books on the market and they give our art the elevation that it deserves.)

-Speaking of technique books, two of them that I bought on eye candy status alone were Sarah Ahearn Bellemare's Painted Pages and Misty Mawn's Unfurling. (I can honestly say that I will probably never do the techniques or projects described in the books but their artwork is just gorgeous, honest and heartfelt. I enjoy both artists' works immensely.)

-I used to buy Amelia's magazine whenever I saw it and could afford it. I absolutely adored it. I have their previous book, Amelia's Anthology of Illustration but when I saw the new one, Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration at Book Soup in West Hollywood, I whipped out the credit card.

-I am a regular reader of Julia Rothman's blog, Book By Its Cover (it's one of my favorite blogs as it's all about one of my favorite subjects, BOOKS.) I was very excited when I heard that she was coming out with a compilation of artist's sketchbooks called Drawn In: A Peek into the Sketchbooks... One of my favorite artists, Abbey Hendrickson, is in it which makes it worth picking up immediately!

-Modern Vintage Style-I like looking at artist's studios as well as homes that look like they belong to an artist and that's why this book was a must have for me!

-Typography Sketchbooks-yeah, I was hooked in from the minute I heard the title. Plus, Maira Kalman's work is in it...(fyi, Maira has quite a few books out that she has illustrated including Food Rules, Why We Broke Up and her latest is Looking at Lincoln. Um, yeah, I have all of her books, too.)

-The Bird King and Other Sketches-A Shaun Tan sketchbook. Enough said. (Don't know who Shaun Tan is? Go here. Yup, I have all of his books, too.)

-Missed Connections-Beautiful. Sweet. One of the best books I read in 2011. I want to see more from her.

-Cook Until Desired Tenderness-This book came out originally in 2005 but I never saw nor heard of it (or the artist, Cleo Papanikolas until I was at Castle in the Air in Berkeley in March of 2011. Her work is rich and inviting. I haven't read it yet as I can't stop looking at the illustrations long enough to pay any attention to the words on the page! A visual delight!

-Creative Walls-Another eye candy, can't put it down book.

-Floating Worlds: The Letters of Edward Gorey and Peter F. Neumeyer-Edward Gorey + Mail Art + A Really Well Written Book=Happiness I Can't Put Into Words.

-My Heart Wanders-I'm halfway through the book and I can't put it down. It's visually stunning. It's an interesting read when I'm not looking at the photos! An American Edition is due out sometime this year.

-Blabber Blabber Blabber: Volume 1 of Everything by Lynda Barry-Folks, this is a Lynda Barry book (volume 1 of 10) published by Drawn and Quarterly. If you are a Lynda Barry fan, you *need* it. If you don't know who Lynda Barry is, get your head out of the sand and go here. If you buy one comic book this year, get Blabber Blabber Blabber. Seriously, I think it was the most underrated comic of 2011.

-Nomad by Sibella Court-I am a huge fan of Sibella Court's first book, Etcetera. Nomad is in the same vein and is a visual feast for artists!

-The New Artisans-My favorite art book of 2011. I am always enthralled with anything made by hand and this book has everything in it. I can't put it down. It is pure inspiration.

-My two favorite collage books of 2011 were Cut & Paste and Cutting Edges. I've blogged about both books before. While they may not be for everyone, I recommend them for anyone with a strong interest in the art of collage.

-The Curiosities of Janice Lowry-A retrospective of Janice Lowry's 30 years as a working artist. It's a book that I can't help but pick up and flip through every time I pass it or see it (on my shelf or even at the bookstore!) I wish that there was more of her journals included but I am hoping for a second book (or even more!)

*****

What were your favorite books of 2011? What books are you looking forward to in 2012?

Comments

lynne h said…
thank you, kelly... definitely going to get 'drawn in...".

i loved tina berning's '100 girls on cheap paper', 'missed connections' (yeah, would *love* to see more from this artist) and katherine dunn's 'creative illustration workshop'.

i think i got those last year - time is flying by so fast these days...

xoxo
Kelly Kilmer said…
Yeah, those were 2010. If it makes you feel any better, I thought Katherine's book was 2011, too. I got Girls Drawn on Cheap Paper at Comic Con in 2010 that much I do remember. Time is going by far too fast.

All of those books are BIG thumbs up from me and are favorites on my shelf!!
Carin Winkelman said…
You may already know about them, but you might really enjoy the books on interiors that Taschen produces. They often feature homes of artists an designers. Their other books are pretty cool too, they often have themes and a lot of eye candy.
Jan said…
Kelly, thanks for this post. I've just spent a pleasant hour wandering through many of the books and blogs mentioned. Inspired!
Peculiarme71 said…
The Night Circus looks so interesting I'm glad you posted this because I had not heard much about it. Trying to force myself to finish the three books I have cracked and started before getting a new one! Thanks for the heads up on that one...can't wait to check it out!
Kelly Kilmer said…
I know the feeling! I often juggle multiple books but when I picked up "The Night Circus", everything else was put on hold. I'd like to pick it up on cd for an upcoming road trip!

Have a great weekend!
Sarah said…
I have a few of these-Nomad, Misty Mawn's book, Creative Walls. Some I have heard of but not yet bought(yet!) but now you have made me want more! I have bought two lovely books this week-'Still Life' a photographic book about the antarctic expedition huts of Scott and Shackleton. It is absolutely beautiful and haunting. The other one I got this week is called 'One, Living as one and loving it'-a celebration of individuality and life-eyecandy and wise words! I also loved 'Cabinet of Curiosities' about the artist Mark Dion. Probably not last year-but it was for me!
martha brown said…
the book that I want right now is called One: Living as One and Loving it by Victoria Alexander. I can only find it on Amazon UK. holly Becker Blogged about it here:
http://decor8blog.com/2012/01/19/new-fave-one-by-victoria-alexander/
It looks like it is styled in a Sibella Court kind of way... maybe?
Seth said…
Thanks for this long list Kelly. I am off to check out the books that I am not familiar with....yet.

Popular Posts